{"id":164094,"date":"2021-02-10T03:04:01","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T11:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=164094"},"modified":"2021-02-10T14:47:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T22:47:07","slug":"packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/","title":{"rendered":"Packer Loyalist Execs Resign from Crown Resorts After Bergin Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two James Packer loyalists have resigned from the Crown Resorts board in the wake of a damning report<\/a> that leaves the Australian casino giant fighting for its gaming license in New South Wales.<\/p>\n

\"Crown
Michael Johnston (left) and Guy Jalland arrive at the Crown Resorts AGM in 2019. (Image: Daily Telegraph\/Casino.org<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland represented Crown\u2019s biggest shareholder, Packer, on the board. Both handed in their notice on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four hours earlier, Crown had been deemed unsuitable for licensing by former NSW Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, who chaired a year-long public inquiry<\/a> into its operations.<\/p>\n

Her decision is not legally binding and must be ratified by the NSW gaming regulator, ILGA. But it puts Crown\u2019s $1.7 billion casino in Sydney\u2019s Barangaroo district at risk.<\/p>\n

Crown’s Poor Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bergin concluded that \u201cpoor corporate governance, deficient risk-management structures and processes, and a poor corporate culture,\u201d prevailed at Crown.<\/p>\n

She also found that the company was \u201cfacilitating money laundering, exposing staff to the risk of detention in a foreign jurisdiction, and pursuing commercial relationships with individuals\u201d connected to organized crime.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnston and Jalland are also key officials at Packer\u2019s private investment company, Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH).<\/p>\n

Bergin singled out Packer and CPH for criticism, suggesting the billionaire acted like a \u201cde factor director\u201d after stepping down from the board. Packer\u2019s \u201cdysfunctional influence\u201d on the company had been \u201cdisastrous,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, of the two CPH officials, Johnston was criticized by Bergin for several failings, including Crown’s VIP strategy and junket review process. Crown failed to adequately vet the Asian junket operators with which it did business. This allowed it to be infiltrated by organized crime and money launderers, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Company Changes Needed\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bergin said sweeping changes would be needed before the company could once again be considered for licensing. These are expected to include the resignation of CEO Ken Barton, whom Bergin declared to be\u00a0 \u201cno match for what is needed at the helm of a casino licensee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bergin also recommended that equity caps of 10 percent be placed on the company, which would mean Packer would be forced to divest himself of the majority of his 37 percent stake.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ILGA chairman Philip Crawford said Tuesday Crown would have to \u201cblow itself up\u201d to save itself.<\/p>\n

‘Packer’s Pecker’<\/h2>\n

The Crown Sydney property opened in December minus casino operations. The company was initially granted a license for the project in 2013, but this was revoked pending the result of the Bergin inquiry.<\/p>\n

The project has always been controversial. Located on the Barangaroo waterfront, it’s Sydney\u2019s highest building, at 890 feet. Critics say there was a lack of public consultation about a project that would become so transformative to the city’s skyline.<\/p>\n

It has been dubbed \u201cPacker\u2019s Pecker\u201d by those who consider it a phallic blot on the landscape.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two James Packer loyalists have resigned from the Crown Resorts board in the wake of a damning report that leaves the Australian casino giant fighting for its gaming license in New South Wales. Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland represented Crown\u2019s biggest shareholder, Packer, on the board. Both handed in their notice on Wednesday morning. Twenty-four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":164096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,33810],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPacker Loyalist Execs Resign from Crown Resorts as Heads Start to Roll<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland, Packer loyalists and Consolidated Press Holdings officials, resign in the wake of Patricia Bergin report.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Packer Loyalist Execs Resign from Crown Resorts as Heads Start to Roll\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland, Packer loyalists and Consolidated Press Holdings officials, resign in the wake of Patricia Bergin report.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-10T11:04:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-10T22:47:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/excecs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"661\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/\",\"name\":\"Packer Loyalist Execs Resign from Crown Resorts as Heads Start to Roll\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/excecs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-10T11:04:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-10T22:47:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland, Packer loyalists and Consolidated Press Holdings officials, resign in the wake of Patricia Bergin report.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-loyalist-execs-resign-from-crown-resorts-as-heads-start-to-roll\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/excecs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/excecs.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":661,\"caption\":\"Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland arrive at the Crown Resorts AGM in 2019. 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